PHANTOM OWL

Anu Aun about PHANTOM OWL FOREST “An outrageous but not so comfortable dress code”

Since Eia’s parents have little time for her, the 10 year old girl is forced to spend the Christmas holiday with her grandfather on a remote farm, in the middle of the snow covered Estonian forest. There she discovers the beauty of nature and wildlife, threatened by a businessman who has a plan to destroy the primeval forest, inhabited by mysterious owls. While fighting for the protection of Phantom Owl Forest, Eia unwraps a well-kept family secret.

One year ago at the Berlinale, PHANTOM OWL FOREST was one of the flagships of the ‘Estonian 100 years anniversary’, a cultural support programme celebrating the anniversary of the Baltic states and meanwhile boosting the national film industries. Afterwards the film travelled the festivals intensively with a story about intergenerational friendship and ecology. We met director Anu Aun at the Filem’on Festival in Brussels.

PHANTOM OWL FOREST embraces a particular style: sweet, beautiful, a bit old-fashioned, and that recipe seems to work perfectly. Anu Aun: We were walking on thin ice, trying to make the film look more beautiful than reality. A Christmas story should feel warm and cosy, something you’d want to watch over and over again, like children do. We added little elements of magic that enchant both grown-ups and children.

That magic is to be found in nature, not in any sort of hocus pocus. Aun: The magical return of the owl at the moment when it is most needed, is based on a true story. I read an article about people spotting for the first time in 100 years a particular type of owl in Estonia. Our story was in need of a rare endangered species to save the forest, so we added a bit of truth to this magic fairy tale.

I have to make a confession. When meeting you and producer Maie Rosmann-Lill years ago in the Cinekid Co-production Market, I thought: such a nice project, what a shame it will never see the light of day. Aun: I appreciate your honesty, but we were more confident than you expected! We had applied for the ‘Estonian 100 years anniversary’, in which a lot of money was involved. The moment we got that grant, things went very fast. After five years of preparation, we had every detail worked out. For the first time in my life I could work with a normal budget, without thinking all the time where to cut and squeeze. This budget enabled us to work fast, as we didn’t have to hire one person for nine different jobs, we simply hired each person to do his own job.

How Baltic is this film? Could it have been made anywhere else than in Estonia? Aun: It could have been made in many places, like for instance in Scandinavia. There is definitely something Nordic about this film. I don’t know much about the Baltic culture and industry, I feel closer connected to Scandinavian countries.

How difficult was it to shoot in winter? Aun: Very difficult! It was extremely cold. I was dressed for the occasion with two pairs of short underwear, three pairs of long underwear, and a warm ski costume. All exterior scenes

were shot outside, in real snow. Only one interior was built in the studio. When spending the whole day out in nature, the fresh air gives me plenty of energy. In a studio I tend to feel sleepy at some point, but in the forest we were running around energetic in our outrageous, but not very comfortable dress code.

Everyone in the film looks nice, healthy and blushing, like a promotion spot for living outdoors. Weren’t you facing any practical problems? Aun: Many. In the woods roads were covered with snow so we had to hire tractors. Sometimes we had to make a long walk before arriving on the set, where we had only a small caravan and a heated tent waiting for us. Electricity sometimes was problematic. But considering we were there with at least 30 people, mostly in the snow, almost none of us fell sick. The whole shooting was like a winter wonderland in another universe.

Did you already return to planet earth? Aun: Hardly! We had such a positive vibe on the set. We picked our team very carefully, and that paid off well. The entire crew is looking back upon this period with great nostalgia.

Was there a lot of wildlife on the set? Aun: We had a specialised crew working on the wildlife footage. Our DoP for nature photography assembled his own team of experts. Most animals were filmed in different forests all over Estonia, and we found a lynx and deer in a wildlife park. A trained owl was brought into the studio from a Lithuanian owl park, that was the only animal not being shot in its natural habitat.

Your film deals with high moral values, like family togetherness, living honestly, ecology… Aun: When we started writing the story, ecology wasn’t as trending in Esto

nia as it is nowadays, but it was always in the core of our film. In terms of family values, I was probably reflecting on my own situation. Every summer and Christmas holidays I was sent to my grandparents and I totally loved it. I felt a strong bond with them, for which I’m still grateful. But I see so many families around me where children are kept separated from one of their parents or grandparents. They can’t meet them because their quarrelling parents are having a bad relationship. Looking through the eyes of a child, this is such a tragic situation to happen, and it is seldom brought to the attention.

How did the Estonian release go? Aun: We premiered as the opening film of the Just Film festival in Tallinn in 2018 and then released PHANTOM OWL FOREST in December. For the promotion we worked close together with the ‘Estonia 100’ team. It was a huge success. With almost 150.000 admissions, no film in Estonia did better, not even BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY which ended second place.

I presume this is going to be the type of film that from now on will be screened on Estonian TV every year during the Christmas holidays, like a new SOUND OF MUSIC, a national treasure. Aun: I would love that – the idea makes me really happy. On an international scale we were proud to be picked up by Attraction Distribution. We had several agents interested in PHANTOM OWL FOREST but we really liked Attraction’s catalogue. Some of those titles made an international career – some even made it to Estonian cinemas – so now they might do the same for PHANTOM OWL FOREST. –Gert Hermans

World Sales: Attraction Distribution, info@attractiondistribution.ca

Mirlan Abdykalykov about RUNNIN G TO THE SKY “The birds were not chosen randomly”

12 year old Jekshen is the fastest runner in the Kyrgyzstani mountain village, where he lives together with his alcoholic father. Jekshen grows up pretty much by himself, finding the last bit of freedom and relief by participating in a traditional running competition. Until one day he is pledged to take part in a big race, one that might change his life for the better.

The environment in which the story takes place seems to have a big influence on the character, the nature of the people living there. Mirlan Abdykalykov: The landscape and especially the atmosphere in the village had a very positive influence on the entire filmmaking process, and on the crew and actors. Off set, we all felt at ease in that place. The wonderful atmosphere fitted so well to the story. Through observing the scenery, the landscape and nature I’m building up a tension that lasts throughout the entire film. People in those villages don’t speak much. Abdykalykov: We shot the film in a big village where during the Soviet days a uranium mine was located, making it a rather dangerous and unhealthy place to live. After the Soviet period, the mine was closed and most of the people moved out. The ones staying behind must have had a strong connection with the place. Maybe this explains why those people in general are rather introverted.

Is what you show us really “life as it is nowadays” in that village? Abdykalykov: It’s a truthful example of typical village life in Kyrgyzstan. We didn’t have to rebuild or decorate anything – the scenery was all there, ready to use. A traditional village scenery in its purest form. There is a strong connection between story and location. The film refers to how life was during and after the Soviet days, which clearly shows in the environmental details. What sort of details? Abdykalykov: All the big buildings, like the school, were built during Soviet times. It is like time has stood still ever since, and every form of development has stopped. And even what we got from the Soviet days, we don’t seem able to save and keep it. It is my very personal opinion that our society is not moving forward. We’re having a status quo. About this, I want to raise some questions in the minds of the audience.

Your protagonist Jekshen is extremely loyal. How loyal can you be to a father who refuses to take up his parental role? Abdykalykov: Respect and loyalty towards the elderly, and especially towards the father, are deeply rooted in Kyrgyzstani traditions. The film doesn’t tell you how far this loyalty can go. Just like you will not find out why exactly the mother has left her husband. Such things you can only presume. Boys like Jekshen sooner or later will make a decision and meet their fate. The closing scene, in which

Jekshen runs away with his rooster, leaves room for interpretation. In the original script, Jekshen wasn’t able to deal with life’s hardships, and died. But I couldn’t agree. When you can overcome so many difficulties, and still you die in the end, then you’re weak. I didn’t want my character to be weak. After many discussions with producers and scriptwriters, I proposed a different ending and measured the pro’s and con’s. That’s how I convinced my team, and we rewrote the script with this open ending.

In the film I spotted lots of images of birds flying through the sky. Not just because you’re such a passionate birdwatcher? Abdykalykov: In this world there is less and less space for animals to obtain, so I wanted to guarantee them a place in my film. Their presence is no coincidence. In many cultures – surely where I come from – animals often represent special symbolic notions. The birds you spotted in RUNNING TO THE SKY were not chosen randomly. A pigeon symbolises love, like between the teacher and her colleague. For Jekshen that gym teacher impersonates motherhood, beauty, first love. The rooster is connected to the running game that is in the centre of the story. And the cuckoo comes with

Director Mirlan Abdykalykov meeting the audience at the Schlingel festival

the scene in which Jekshen visits his mother – remember how cuckoos don’t raise their own chicks. One main intention with this story was not to put a blame on one specific person. The guilt is on all of us to carry. The presence of birds and other animals is there to explain this idea of a blame that needs to be shared.

A lot of drinking is going on in the village. Abdykalykov: I believe there is always a reason behind all that drunkenness. Look at Jekshen’s father and you will understand. In the nineties the alcohol problem in Kyrgyzstan was even bigger, but it still exists nowadays. How difficult was it to make the film? Abdykalykov: Both on the level of financing and technique, making a film is never easy. I constantly felt the threat of not having enough money to finish the film, which complicated everything. Luckily since 2005 a system of state funding was installed, the film landscape in Kyrgyzstan has developed. But for this type of cinema, telling personal stories based upon my individual ideas, there’s still many challenges. Working with the best technical equipment, using the best facilities, is something we can’t afford. To make a good film, having a ‘good idea’ is the crucial element. I am always hoping to meet someone who has plenty of money and no ideas. I have plenty of good ideas but no money to make them happen.

Is it true what they say about you? Abdykalykov: What? ago. Abdykalykov: HEAVENLY NOMADIC, my debut as a director, was a children’s film too. It got a small scale release in 30 German arthouse cinema’s. Now RUNNING TO THE SKY is having its European premiere in the renown Schlingel Festival. In the city of Chemnitz, I can feel the presence of a long children’s film history, but on this 24th festival edition, RUNNING TO THE SKY is the first Kyrgyzstani film on the programme. I’m proud about that. –Gert Hermans

Contact & Sales: Pluto Film, info@ plutofilm.de, http://www.plutofilm. de/films/running-to-the-sky/0043 Sales: Margot Haiböck, Festivals: Daniela Chlapikova.

You were the child actor who played the title role in BESHKEMPIR? Abdykalykov: I was. I have the best possible memories of that project. My father Aktan Abdykalykov was the director, and I’m now following in his footsteps.

BESHKEMPIR was made 20 years